- Wizards guard Bradley Beal, who exited Tuesday’s win over Philadelphia with left hamstring soreness, likely won’t be out for long, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Beal was officially ruled out of Wednesday’s game against Phoenix (Twitter link via Ava Wallace of The Washington Post), but Charania says he is considered day-to-day and could be back for Friday’s contest in Orlando.
- Although Marc Stein reported earlier in the week that Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma is considered increasingly likely to be available at this season’s deadline, not everyone is hearing the same thing. One league source who spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype said that the Wizards internally consider Kuzma to be a “big part of the future.”
- After winning in Sacramento on Friday and vs. Philadelphia on Tuesday, the Wizards are now 5-1 this season when Delon Wright is active. Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. suggested after Tuesday’s victory that the team’s success when Wright plays isn’t merely coincidental, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “His impact was immediate, even just picking up (opposing ballhandlers), pestering (them),” Unseld said. “You know, it’s tough when you’ve got minute restrictions, for good reason, but he does a lot of good things out there, and some of them that don’t fall into the box score. But there’s a presence, and I think guys (on the other team) are kind of looking over their shoulder because they know he has a defensive feel to him.”
Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith will be out for several more games. He’ll be reevaluated in two weeks, per coach Jason Kidd, Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com tweets. Finney-Smith hasn’t played since Dec. 19 due to a groin injury. Guard Josh Green, who has been out since Dec. 9 due to a sprained right elbow, will get an examination on Friday.
We have more injury-related news:
- On a night when the Wizards finally had a full, healthy roster, star Bradley Beal departed with just over four minutes remaining on Tuesday due to left hamstring soreness, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Beal has been limited to 23 games this season after missing time with thigh and right hamstring injuries.
- Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, who has missed three games due to a stint in the league’s health and safety protocols, is listed as probable to play on Wednesday against Minnesota, according to a team press release. Herbert Jones, who was also placed in protocols over the weekend, is listed as questionable.
- Suns guard Cameron Payne, who has not played since Dec. 13 due to a right foot strain, is hopeful of returning during the team’s in-progress six-game road swing, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports. “It’d be hard just sitting back and watching, but kind of got to fight through the discomfort,” Payne said. “Just try to get me back to 100%. Just get me back to normal. I think I’m getting close. It’s been a rough two weeks, week and a half, but it’s coming to a close. Just getting close.”
There’s a rising belief around the NBA that Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma will be “gettable” prior to this season’s trade deadline, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story.
Based on the whispers he has heard, Stein has a hard time envisioning Kuzma wanting to remain in D.C. beyond this season. If the Wizards have heard those same rumblings and consider them credible, it would make sense for the club to recoup some value for the standout forward on the trade market rather than risk losing him for nothing next summer.
Kuzma is enjoying a career year in his second full season with the Wizards, averaging 21.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 3.5 APG in his first 33 games (35.4 MPG). He has a $13MM player option for 2023/24, but has already indicated that he plans to decline it to become an unrestricted free agent.
Wizards forward Deni Avdija practiced on a limited basis on Monday after missing the last two games with lower back soreness, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Avdija is the only player on the injury report and he’s listed as questionable, the team tweets. Will Barton, who has also battled back soreness, practiced on a limited basis as well.
We have more on the Wizards:
- With Rui Hachimura and guard Delon Wright back in the rotation after missing significant time due to injuries, the team’s defense should be on the improve, Ava Wallace of The Washington Post notes. Wright could be the team’s best perimeter defender. “We’ve talked about at length his ability to contain one-on-one,” head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “Hopefully, that helps minimize some of the points in the paint. He’s got great size, hand activity.”
- Two-way player Jordan Goodwin is expected to remain with the team for the time being despite the return of Wright, Wallace reports in the same story. The Wizards want to avoid overloading Wright, starter Monte Morris and the other guards. Goodwin has a solid grip on the third-string point guard spot over No. 10 pick Johnny Davis, who has appeared in 14 games with the G League’s Capital City Go-Go.
- Hachimura has been indispensable to the Wizards’ second unit this season because of his ability to provide instant offense, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Despite missing 16 games, Hachimura leads the Wizards in double-digit scoring games off the bench with 14. It’s a pivotal season for Hachimura, who’s headed for restricted free agency next summer with a current qualifying offer of $8,486,620.
- With their roster almost fully healthy, the Wizards understand they have to start producing to prevent a shakeup at the trade deadline, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “It’s tough for you to make decisions without a healthy team, and we’ve got to make up some ground,” Kyle Kuzma said. “We’ve been injured a lot, but we’ve got a chance to rewrite some things. The trade deadline is in six weeks, and everyone in this locker room knows about that.”
- The Wizards announced that guard Delon Wright, who has missed the team’s past 29 games with a hamstring injury, would be back in action on Friday against Sacramento, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). Wright should bolster the Wizards’ defense, which ranks 22nd in the NBA.
The Bucks, Heat and Hawks have been linked to Jae Crowder multiple times and are “widely regarded” as his top suitors, but the Wizards recently made an offer for the veteran forward, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article (subscription required).
Wizards forward Rui Hachimura, a restricted free agent in the summer who is set to return tonight from an ankle injury, was believed to be part of the trade package, but the Suns declined and are said to be looking for a “certifiable starter” in exchange for Crowder, according to Stein.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst previously identified the Wizards as a potential Crowder suitor and noted that Hachimura could be a trade candidate.
Here are a couple more trade rumors and one note from around the NBA:
- The Hawks have “widened the scope” of their trade talks involving John Collins, sources tell Stein. While that seems to indicate that Atlanta will eventually find a suitable deal for Collins, the size and length of his contract ($102MM over four years), plus his limited role and declining production this season, have made it difficult thus far to find a trade partner for the veteran power forward, says Stein.
- Some people in the Lakers‘ organization are “very intrigued” by Knicks wing Cam Reddish, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. They view him as a youthful reclamation project, which the team has had some success with in the past couple seasons (Malik Monk and Lonnie Walker). Sources tell Woike that the Knicks are looking for a protected first-rounder for the 23-year-old, but that asking price is expected to dip as Reddish is no longer in New York’s rotation. Reddish will be a restricted free agent in the summer if he’s extended a qualifying offer.
- Count Zach Kram of The Ringer among the writers who believe that the Raptors should make moves to reset the roster ahead of the trade deadline. Kram notes that Toronto’s half-court offense has been very poor and the defense has been much worse than expected compared to last season. The Raptors have some very valuable players so they don’t need to do a full tear-down, but it’s evident that things aren’t working with the current group, Kram writes.
After missing more than a month with a bone bruise in his right ankle, Wizards forward Rui Hachimura is expected to play Thursday, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The team announced that Hachimura, who has been out of action since November 18, will be available for the game at Utah.
Hachimura was originally diagnosed with ankle soreness, but an MRI revealed the bruise. Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. offered an encouraging progress report on Hachimura last week, saying he had started one-on-one contact work.
Hachimura’s return is welcome news for the Wizards, who had lost 10 straight games before winning Tuesday night in Phoenix. Washington is 12th in the East at 12-20, but the club is starting to get some of its rotation players back after a string of injuries. Bradley Beal returned Sunday after missing two weeks with a hamstring issue, and Delon Wright should be back soon after being sidelined since October 25 with a strained hamstring.
There’s more injury news to pass along:
- Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has been placed in the league’s health and safety protocols and will miss Thursday’s game against the Spurs, according to Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Clark notes that Williamson was able to play 40 minutes Monday, but he wasn’t at practice today. New Orleans also plays on Friday and may be facing an extended stretch without Williamson and Brandon Ingram, whom coach Willie Green has already confirmed will miss both games.
- Sixers coach Doc Rivers told reporters tonight that Tyrese Maxey, who has a broken bone in his left foot, is improving, but there’s still no set timetable for him to return, tweets Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice. “We will see him at some point,” Rivers said. “I just don’t know when.”
- Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins may be targeting Christmas Day to try to return from a right adductor strain, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Wiggins is sitting out tonight’s game at Brooklyn, along with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Donte DiVincenzo and JaMychal Green.
Hawks guard Trae Young and head coach Nate McMillan both downplayed an alleged confrontation that occurred earlier this month, but there has been chatter that their relationship has gotten worse since then, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com, who said one league executive referred to the situation in Atlanta as “toxic.”
“When they win, everybody’s happy for a minute,” one source told Bulpett. “But when they lose, it gets messy. Instead of trying to get it figured out, there’s a lot of blame being thrown around.”
According to Bulpett, one opposing coach said that Young and McMillan don’t like each other, and suggested that “other players have issues with Trae” as well.
“There were teams that questioned whether he’d ever be this good because of his size when he was coming out,” a front office source said of Young. “So it’s good to have that kind of fight in you. But at some point, you’d hope he’d realize the effect he can have on his team, both positive and negative. Sometimes you have to take a step back and maybe take a hit to make the whole thing work.”
Meanwhile, although John Collins‘ name has once again come up in trade rumors, sources who spoke to Bulpett pointed to the big man’s contract as a potential roadblock as the Hawks seek a trade partner. He’s still owed $78.5MM across three seasons after this one.
“He’s not a bad player. He’s actually a good player,” a source told Bulpett. “The problem is he’s not worth 23-and-a-half million. There are places he could go where he’d really be helping a team and really be happy, but right now that contract is in the way. We’ll see if anyone’s going to bite or if Atlanta’s going to make it worth another team’s while.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Asked on Tuesday if there’s a chance Delon Wright will return to action for the Wizards on Thursday, head coach Wes Unseld Jr. responded, “I hope so,” tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Wright has been on the shelf for nearly two months, but finally seems on the verge of being reactivated.
- In a story for The Athletic, Robbins and Jovan Buha explore whether it’s realistic to think the Wizards and Lakers could work out a trade that sends Bradley Beal to Los Angeles for Russell Westbrook and draft picks. Robbins is skeptical, but points out that Beal’s no-trade clause will make it challenging for the Wizards to maximize the guard’s value if he ever wants to be dealt, since he could veto deals to unwanted destinations.
- With several Heat regulars unavailable, Victor Oladipo made his first start of the year and played a season-high 34 minutes in Tuesday’s loss to Chicago. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel relays, head coach Erik Spoelstra made it clear after the game that he doesn’t intend to lean that heavily on Oladipo often as he continues to work his way back to 100%. “I wouldn’t have done this with Vic if it wasn’t clearly communicated with him and with the training staff and if we didn’t have two days after the last game, two days before the next game,” Spoelstra said.